During the discussions in the US in 1940 regarding
World War II, Quakers opposed the war as a matter of conscience. Friends from 22 Yearly Meetings came to
Richmond, Indiana, a city that has historically embraced Quaker values, for a conference to address the national draft. This conference set the stage for a subsequent gathering of 52 Quakers in Richmond from June 11–12, 1943. That gathering gave birth to the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) to influence U.S. government decisions related to war and peace. FCNL's advocacy in solidarity with Native Americans and Alaska Natives dates back to 1956 when the government finalized its plans to prevent flooding in Pittsburgh by building the
Kinzua Dam to divert the Allegheny River. The
Seneca Nation lost 10,000 acres of its Allegany Territory. The organization's subsequent work with Native Americans was based largely on a series of consultations by a group equally made up of tribal and yearly meeting representatives. These consultations led to opposition to the U.S. government's termination policy that ended federal recognition of many tribes as government entities. It catalyzed grassroots support for adequate funding for schools and healthcare (e.g., the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (P.L. 94-437) to improve the Indian Health Service), for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (P.L. 92-203), and for oil rights for the Osage Nation. In 2017, FCNL started a Native American Advocacy Program led by a young Native American. Its focus has largely been on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. FCNL's first 30 years were also marked by efforts to stop violent conflict around the world and address root causes. Its legislative policy is rooted in the belief that there is that of God in every person. This belief has fueled the Quakers' longstanding
Peace Testimony—promoting peace and refraining from violence and actively opposing war. Peace testimony has governed FCNL's work to prevent war, minimize the threat of war, and promote peace since its beginning. From providing relief to Europe during and after World War II, defeating congressional proposals for mandatory military training for young men, and opposing civil defense measures to playing a significant role in the creation of the
Peace Corps in 1961, FCNL has remained steadfast in its commitment to the peace testimony, manifested by ending and preventing war. FCNL has opposed nuclear weapons since their creation. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, FCNL called for United Nations negotiations rather than military intervention to mitigate the possibility of tensions escalating to war. FCNL's advocacy was key to the establishment of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1968, which went into effect in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, FCNL was an active opponent of the
Vietnam War. Disillusioned and frustrated with the war, young Quakers urged FCNL to establish an internship program in 1970 as an alternate form of public service. Since its inception, hundreds of recent graduates have spent 11 months at FCNL learning to advocate, developing leadership skills, and enriching Quaker lobbying. In 1974, Edward Snyder (FCNL's Executive Secretary from 1962 to 1990) led efforts to cancel the appropriation of $474 million to the South Vietnamese military, expediting an end to the U.S. war in Vietnam. and the 1991
START I Treaties, as well as limitations on nuclear testing. During the 1980s, the
World Bank turned to FCNL as an organization at the forefront of addressing the inextricable links between the environment and global poverty. That same decade, FCNL's Ruth Flower also chaired the Domestic Human Needs Working Group of Interfaith Action for Economic Justice, central in the welfare reform debate in Congress. FCNL also led other faith groups in advocating for more generous and less punitive legislation. By the 1990s, FCNL's influence and capacity to change public policy increased. It worked to shift budget priorities away from military spending to support international organizations and diplomacy, reform the U.S. healthcare system, advocate for Native American rights, curtail the global weapons trade, and respond to national and international crises. In 1992, FCNL was instrumental in helping to ratify the
U.N. Convention on Chemical Weapons. This U.N. arms control treaty outlaws the production and use of chemical weapons and leads to the destruction of 93% of the world's declared stockpile of chemical weapons. Since 1993, FCNL has also led the coalition of NGOs and advocacy groups working to develop a strict set of arms export criteria that would prevent nations from providing military assistance or exporting weapons to countries engaged in abusive practices. The day after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, FCNL issued a statement discouraging the U.S. government from responding with violence. The "War is not the Answer" slogan would shape FCNL's legislative policy throughout the decade. Two days after that, Congress turned over to the president its constitutional power to decide whether and when the U.S. enters military conflict. Since then, lawmakers have twice invoked the War Powers Act of 1973, which was intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without congressional consent. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)—the law behind the "War on Terror"—has given four administrations expansive and endless war-making powers. The 2002
AUMF served as the ultimate basis for U.S. military action against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. FCNL lobbyists continues to advocate for resolutions to "cancel the blank check for war" by restoring Congress' power to determine whether and when the U.S. goes to war. For more than ten years, FCNL has encouraged a shift from violent, reactionary responses to peaceful conflict resolution and diplomacy. It also advocated for reductions and alternatives to increased military spending, urged Congress to put an end to the war in Yemen, and successfully lobbied for the prevention of atrocities and genocide. FCNL was key to the passage of the
Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act (P.L. 115–441), which passed in 2018 and became law in 2019. The bill ensures coordination among U.S. government departments to prevent global atrocities from occurring and mandates training for American diplomats to identify early warning signs of genocide. FCNL lobbied for the
Iran nuclear deal, including the 2015
Join Comprehensive Plan of Action. After several years of FCNL's lobbying for legislation to demilitarize police, President Obama announced in 2015 that the federal government will no longer provide certain military equipment to local police forces. In December 2018, President Trump signed the First Step Act (P.L. 115- 391) into law, reducing sentences for non-violent crimes and improving rehabilitation for those in prison. In February 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act; FCNL had coordinated lobbying of more than 50 faith groups to ensure the bill's passage. Two months later, the House voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, including FCNL-backed provisions to strengthen protection for Native women and children. Throughout its history, FCNL has also lobbied on federal appropriations, making sure new laws are properly funded. It is also vocal in opposing the superfluous funding of laws that conflict with organization's mission at the expense of equity, justice, peace, or the environment.
Brick and mortar In 2005, FCNL made good on its commitment to restore and transform its historic Capitol Hill office, becoming the first
LEED-certified building on Capitol Hill. In 2020, the U.S. Green Building Council upgraded the FCNL's rating from silver to platinum, its highest level. In 2011, FCNL purchased the adjoining row house, on 205 C Street. The organization renovated it using the same green principles used in FCNL's main building. It was re-opened in 2017. In 2019, the FCNL Education Fund assumed management and governance of the William Penn House. In 2020, it was renamed the Friends Place on Capitol Hill. In renaming it, the board was mindful that
William Penn enslaved people. The building, finished in 1917, was purchased by the Friends Meeting in Washington in 1966 to advance Quaker efforts on Capitol Hill. Shortly after acquiring it, the FCNL Education Fund undertook major repairs to modernize Friends Place. Today, it is a guesthouse and learning center. == Organization ==